Well this is basically a post i did replying to someone buying Audio gear. I figured i would make it into a thread for future refference by members: What is the point of wasting your money on car audio gear if your going to spend $1000 on a system and it will be "fully sick" because you have 2 x 1000W amps (BOSS of course) a Sony head unit, some no name "splits" and 6 x 9's with a 2000W sub!? It's going to cost you a hell of alot more in the long run buying this useless Crap. Here's what you I think you should spend you money Head unit = Minimum $500. I have an Alpine CDA-9855R model. You want something with 3 outputs, this will make installation of amps easier in the future. Remember if your going to be running alot of gear you want something that will control it Front speakers = $300 (minimum). I have Alpine type X (a bit on the pricey side). These speakers are what you will be hearing most of the time so spend your dollars here. Crossovers are needed aswell. These can be installed in the door with the tweeter in the stock VL positions and crossovers can either be mounted on the door trim or hidden behind the kick panel Rear speakers = Get same speakers as the front ones UNLESS you are not using subs, then get 6 x 9's. Otherwise get another set of splits. Sub's provide bass, 6 x 9's provide bass aswell. Isn't quality sound better than doof doof? Sub's = Here is where everyone is different. 10's, 12's and 15's are all for different types of music so chose for your style. Allow for 2 subs for "wank" factor aswell as "wow" factor. Allow for around $500-$700 Amps = This is where your REAL dollars should be spent. Power is nothing without control (or something like that) and amps will make a bad speaker sound good. What you want to do is make a good speaker sound awesome! Get monoblock amps for subs. When picking a sub look at RMS. Just because BOSS sell an amp that says it is 1000W doesn't mean it's good. You get what you pay for in car audio. I go with Rockford Fosqate which gives youa "birth certificate" which tells you all about the particular amp you are buying. Choose wisely. allow MINIMUM $1000. This would be to run subs and speakers. Wiring = This is something that is over looked far too often. When choosing wiring, DON'T SKIMP! This is what carries all your audio signals to your speakers from your head unit. The thicker the better, Stinger is quite good at what it does. 0 gauge for those of you with big wallets but 4 guage as a minimum for amps. Make sure your earth is damn good aswell Sub boxes = GET THEM PORTED! I cannot stress this enough. A 12" sub in a custom ported box will kill 2 12" subs in normal boxes. Sound deadening = Once again underated. This will assist the QUALITY of the sound that is given via your speakers. By mounting your speakers in thicker wood (VL speaker mounts are very thin) you will increase the speaker stability and increase speaker output and quality Battery = Get a dry cell batter. They are better and ..... Just do it Seriously, don't go cheap on your Audio gear. Spend the dollars to reap the awards. Or spend it on your engine to reap the awards of an awesome VL. I love Audio gear but no point in driving a $5000 stereo without the balls to back it up If you have any more tips put them below and i can add them in

my tip is this shoud be a sticky ! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

I'd have to agree with you on that one Yeti ,It's true spending money on crap that says 1000w rms is a waste of time ,It has a lot to do with ohms aswell not just rms ,and as for subs yeah generally your bigger subs are better for R&B with it's fat long beats where is the smaller subs are better for dance music with sharp punchy base. True get a good quality amp it can and will make cheap speakers sound better than what they really are.

well i did just right up htis big arse post, and right when im about to finish, my fcuking computer dies! so heres the jist of it head unit: minimum 300 speakrs : many ppl are hapy with jaycar splits, and say they sound as good as splits 3 times the price, but for good stuff, try Focal/Hertz/DD amps: your about right on with that one, RF are an excellent brand, also look to DD subs: DD again, look at the 25XX series for around that money, also image dynamics/boston etc sub boxes: get a pro made box that suits the sub, not all subs are suited to porting, altho some can gain as much as 6db from it install: wiring sound deadening etc, go nuts here, install is as important as the quality of the gear itself, you can make cheap stuff sound good if its installed right, you can also have very good gear that sounds like sh*t. buying: shop around, go to specialty shops, stay away from stratties and ebay. ebay is full of those bs brands, fakes, and thieves lol. also go on car audio forums and buy second hand, you can buy top line gear for very cut price this way. oh and jet-set88, that thing about the bigger subs for R&B is a more of a myth... albeit widely accepted, and for good reason. my own general rule is cheap sh*t, low quality subs in the rong box cause sh*t SQ. good subs will hit hard and fast, altho granted, i've even had friends tell me that they've heard some good JL's with good amps that werent to impressive for dance.....

a large, well-powered sub will hit as fast and hard as you need it to, provided it's not pure Sony sh*te. EG a DD 15" with at LEAST it's rated power RMS power going through it will blow you away. you wont be thinking "but it's a 15' cone, it can never move fast and precise enough" once you hear it with good power (and a good amp).

precisely. obviously it will be slower moving than smaller subs because the moving mass is heavier, but its small enough that its innaudible (is that even a word lol)

dont no how i went but sould good in the inside the out side is just a virberter system got ever theng poinner and alpine

Also for you guys with wagons.... Point your subs at the back door. I don't even know if this is fact but I have 2 x 12" pionner subs (they are pretty povo) but when I point them at the tailgate they seem to do alright. Point them at the roof and you can almost hear no bass what so ever. Makes a HUGE differance. I'd imagine it's cause the sound waves bounce of the tailgate and head straight to the front instead of bouncing up and down off the roof. Anyone know anything about MB Quart. I got some of their splits running off the crappest pioneer 150W amp ever but they are almost ear peircing. I've never heard anything about them but they seem alright. I think I paid about $250-300 for them. Did I get ripped haha ?

MB quart have some cheap stuff, and sum very expensive stuff, in general a top line brand IMO as for the subs, when you face em back its called bass loading or sum sh*t off the rear gate, same effect with hatches, they always recomend u point em back

Good Work there Charles. Should prove to be an educational read for most :P

VB wat you are refering to is "REAR LOADING" by doing this in my car i gained 3db, and yeti. to your "sub boxes" statement, no porting is not always better, and wont make your 1 ported sound like 2 sealed! WRONG.. it all comes down to wat the woofer is suited.. companys give you specs for a reason to help you get the best out of there products, and as for all this rule of thumb you have gone by... almost useless coz a VL commodore is the worst car for soundstaging EVER, but a good guide none the less... good day

i have MB Quart Reference series. MB quart are a 'high-end' brand. they have won many SQ comps in their time. they're know for having a bit of a 'harsh' tweeter because it's titanium-coated. you can play around with them and you'll get a good sound though. they LOVE power! mine are getting 300RMS EACH and they take it (albiet it's not like i drive round all day with it full up). if u paid $300 you might have the 'discus' range. there are entry-level for the 'quarts but still as expensive as pioneer's TOP model splits! show's how good they are. you've got a good set of splits. i have mine running of an Alpine PDX 4.150 amp which is a good amp. if you give them good clean power from a good amp they will shine, i tell you!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mufftang i have MB Quart Reference series. MB quart are a 'high-end' brand. they have won many SQ comps in their time. they're know for having a bit of a 'harsh' tweeter because it's titanium-coated. you can play around with them and you'll get a good sound though. they LOVE power! mine are getting 300RMS EACH and they take it (albiet it's not like i drive round all day with it full up). if u paid $300 you might have the 'discus' range. there are entry-level for the 'quarts but still as expensive as pioneer's TOP model splits! show's how good they are. you've got a good set of splits. i have mine running of an Alpine PDX 4.150 amp which is a good amp. if you give them good clean power from a good amp they will shine, i tell you! Yeah they are prettty good. They had a $450 RRP on them but I gots me some connections I'm sure with a better amp they would be too loud for me. I like to hear what my car is doing On the crossover there are like 2 extra wire spots with a differant number on them. When I hook the tweeter to that it still sounds the same. Car's not here at the moment so I can't really have a look to explain exactly what I'm on about but have you got any idea anyway ? Did that make any sense at all ? Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mufftang i have MB Quart Reference series. MB quart are a 'high-end' brand. they have won many SQ comps in their time. they're know for having a bit of a 'harsh' tweeter because it's titanium-coated. you can play around with them and you'll get a good sound though. they LOVE power! mine are getting 300RMS EACH and they take it (albiet it's not like i drive round all day with it full up). if u paid $300 you might have the 'discus' range. there are entry-level for the 'quarts but still as expensive as pioneer's TOP model splits! show's how good they are. you've got a good set of splits. i have mine running of an Alpine PDX 4.150 amp which is a good amp. if you give them good clean power from a good amp they will shine, i tell you! i also have these splits (Reference) running off a alpine MRP-F450 so they r getting 70WRMS i have a question the fuse in the crossover lights up like a Mother ****er when i crank it like the plastic casing on the crossover is starting to warp and go retarded and its so bright that it lights up the floor under the dash my. my question being is this normal should i be worried??(no distortion tho) and ive been thinking about bridging the amp out and running each speaker off its own channel eg left side tweeter and woofer of channel 1&2 and right off 3&4 any thoughts or recomendations?? Quote: Originally Posted by BOOSTnWGn On the crossover there are like 2 extra wire spots with a differant number on them. When I hook the tweeter to that it still sounds the same. Car's not here at the moment so I can't really have a look to explain exactly what I'm on about but have you got any idea anyway ? Did that make any sense at all ? thats what im talking about the separate tweeter and woofer inputs any advantage to splitting the channels on the amp to run each driver and tweeter independantly? i mean there would have to be and advantage to it or they wouldnt offer it but would you recomend doin it with my amp??

regarding the porting, someone ported my sub box, and it sounds CRAP! hardly any base and sounds very thin, i shoved a rag in the hole and MUCH better now

oh and id like to recommend Nicholas Tan for making custom sub boxes great build quality knows his stuff and custom makes them for your car and subs not just some expensive crap prefab Aerpro box great prices too.. just had him make a custom one for my festiva with a top amp enclosure check out his website http://www.karatan.com.au/

yeah, S200VL that's a lighbulb designed to absorb excess power so you dont over-do your tweeters. if your light up at 70rms then i'd hate to see mine @ full tilt! haha although mine are in my dash so i might have to pull them out next time i run James Morrison's 'Scream Machine'. as for bridging ur amp, yeah why not. the splits will easily take it, dont worry. i CBF lookin up the amp but if i remember it's still a good amp. alpine make good stuff.

run the front stage active?

Quote: Originally Posted by -VB- run the front stage active? come again????

4 cahnnel amp, one channel to each mid bass driver (the big speaker) and one channel to each tweeter just gotta turn the gains down for the tweet. as for benifits etc, go here: benifits of goin active (http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=76589) Some original photos have not been recovered yet.